Tickets: $35; $30 for age 60 and older, $10 for students with ID, free for children younger than 15. www.brownpapertickets.com, 713-432-1744 or at the door.

England's Dufay Collective has been exploring Medieval and Renaissance music since 1987. In those years, they've released 10 recordings and have performed all over the world, from Morocco to Australia - but never before in Texas.

That will change Sunday when Houston Early Music brings the group to town to present To Drive the Cold Winter Away - Christmas Revelry in Renaissance England at Christ Church Cathedral.

Earlier this week, Dufay Collective artistic director William Lyons spoke from London about his ensemble, the program they'll present in Houston - and his experiences in the film business.

Q:What can you say about the music you'll be performing?

A: The music is from the 16th and 17th centuries. The first part is the music you would have heard at the court of Henry VIII: English, Italian, French music that reflects the influences at his court. Then, in the second half, we'll go into London for the street ballads and country-dances that were popular in theaters at the time. It's quite a varied program.

Q: And what will you be talking about in your preconcert chat?

A: I'll be setting the context for the music we'll be playing. Our notion of Christmas today is based on Victorian attitudes about what Christmas should be: Christmas cards, Christmas trees, dining on turkey, and that sort of thing. So I'm going to be setting Christmas - and the idea of what Christmas was to English people - back in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Q: The players in Dufay Collective seem to be quite versatile. Does everyone in the group play more than one instrument?

A: Yes, there's quite a variety. I play flute, recorder, a kind of early bassoon and the bagpipes. John Banks plays harp, guitar and percussion, and Emily Askew plays fiddle, recorders and bagpipes. And Vivien Ellis is our singer. The four of us offer an interesting combination of instruments.

Q: How do you find your repertoire? Do you do a lot of research yourself?

A: I've spent many years doing research. It involves looking at a lot of sources and editing manuscripts. But the most exciting thing is turning something into a performable piece that's relevant to modern listeners.

Q: Do you think there are strong similarities between the music you play, from England, and American folk music?

A: Absolutely, 100 percent. Scholars have long realized that Appalachian music and other American folk styles are directly related to older styles of English traditional music. There are a couple of pieces in our concert from 17th-century England that people may recognize as very closely related to shape-note singing styles.

Q: The Dufay Collective has been active for almost a quarter century now. What is the sustaining force in this music, for you?

A: I think we always try to present programs in a modern way. The programs are thoroughly researched, but they're accessible at the same time. We're always aware that what we're presenting in a modern concert situation is very different from how people would have heard it 500 years ago.

It's impossible to know exactly how this music would have been heard, back then. But you can say here's the spirit and the joy of the music. And it has life - it's not just an archeological artifact, it's a living, vibrant entity. That's always been the whole purpose of my career.

Q: I understand you've also been involved in the film business.

A: I've written music for films like Pride and Prejudice And I've consulted on period films, and also worked as a studio musician. With Harry Potter 3, we got to work directly with John Williams, who's one of my idols as a film composer. He really did his research: He listened to our recordings, and then wrote in the style of the music that we play.

Q:Do you have any new CDs in the works?

A: We've just produced a new recording of the music we'll be playing in Houston. It's literally just off the presses.

We'll have lots of copies with us - and we'll need to get rid of them, because they're too heavy to take home!